Research On The May 4th New Literature Pioneers’ Knowledge System

Since the late Qing Dynasty,the old and new thoughts were mixed,and the cultural conflicts between Chinese and the west were intense.In the society of diversified values interwoven with traditional thoughts and modern civilization,the May 4th new literature pioneers are radical and firmly in the camp of new literature and new culture,which is closely related to their knowledge system.The knowledge system of the May 4th new literature pioneers is the subjective factor of the new literature and the important source of the subjective creativity.Therefore,this paper discusses from five chapters:the diversified knowledge types of the pioneers,the modern transformation of the pioneers’ knowledge,the role of the pioneers’ knowledge on their thoughts and literary creation,the belief system of the pioneers,and the case study of the pioneers’ knowledge and belief.This paper discusses the basic features of the pioneers’ knowledge system,in order to reveal the relationship between the knowledge system and the new literature,and reveal the relationship between the knowledge and belief of the pioneers.The introduction firstly clarifies the basis and research methods of this paper.The topic selection conforms to the logic of literature production,and tends to pragmatism in the selection of research methods.Secondly,it defines the May 4th new literature pioneers,the May 4th new literature,and the pioneer’s knowledge,belief,knowledge system and other related concepts.We will use the explanation of knowledge and belief in philosophy for reference,to clarify the connotation and extension of related concepts.Finally,the paper comprehensively combs the integrity research on the knowledge and belief of modern and contemporary Chinese writers,the group research on the knowledge and belief of the May 4th writers,and the case study on Lu Xun’s knowledge and belief,so as to grasp the current research status in the corresponding fields.We want to explore the expansion of this paper from the existing academic achievements.Up to now,the knowledge system of the pioneers is still lack of systematic thematic research.Through the introduction part of the elaboration,forms the idea and the final purpose of this paper.The first chapter studies the diversified knowledge types of the May 4th new literature pioneers,focusing on the period of study.Because the period of study is a stage in which the pioneers systematically and specifically study knowledge,they already have a variety of knowledge types,including humanities and social sciences knowledge,natural science and technology knowledge,and experience knowledge.Firstly,humanities and social sciences knowledge is the most abundant knowledge accumulated by pioneers,which runs through the whole reading experience of the pioneers.During the period of family enlightenment education,they learned basic elementary knowledge which included the enlightenment,Confucianism,history and folk literature and art knowledge.In private school,they learned the orthodox knowledge with Four Books and Five Classics as the core,and read many heresies and idle books.During the period of studying abroad,they accepted the knowledge of literature,politics,language and so on.Secondly,the pioneers learned the knowledge of natural science and technology in new domestic schools and overseas schools.They not only had basic knowledge of mathematics,physics and chemistry,but also had professional knowledge,such as shipbuilding,geology,mineralogy,smelting,western medicine and agronomy.At first,they had a strong interest in learning this kind of knowledge,but gradually lost the interest.Finally,the pioneers not only learned book knowledge,but also accumulated rich experience knowledge.In social practice,they had a more real and profound understanding of current events,national conditions,natural scenery,folk literature and art.From the perspective of knowledge type progression,the pioneers’ knowledge type experienced the change process from only Chinese traditional knowledge to both Chinese traditional knowledge.The second chapter explains the modern transformation of the May 4th new literature pioneers’knowledge.Compared with the knowledge of traditional Chinese scholars in Qing Dynasty,the knowledge of pioneers has undergone a modern transformation,which is embodied in the modern attribute of the pioneers’ knowledge.Firstly,in Qing Dynasty,under the influence of imperial examination system,eight part essay and private school education,Chinese traditional intellectuals only had moral knowledge based on Confucian moral theory.The imperial examination was closely related to the feudal bureaucratic system.In the feudal society of official standard,it was the right way for the traditional scholars to enter the bureaucratic system.Private schools became the main place for training candidates for the imperial examination.The Four Books and Five Classics became the main learning contents.This led to the traditional scholars only have moral knowledge,lack of scientific knowledge,knowledge is single and obsolete,and the feudal rulers gave the scholars special use of knowledge,bound knowledge and power,academic and political,hindered the healthy development of knowledge and learning.Secondly,compared with the traditional scholars,the pioneers’ knowledge has really realized the transformation of modernity significance,and their knowledge has a series of modern attributes.The knowledge learned by the pioneers in the new schools and overseas schools has distinct disciplinary and professional characteristics;since their studies,they have focused on absorbing diversified and comprehensive knowledge,and their knowledge system is always in constant change,with dynamic and open characteristics;they pay attention to learning the current new knowledge through new newspapers and books,which reflects the timeliness of their knowledge.They pay great attention to the practical value of knowledge,the application of knowledge to practice,and the connection between knowledge and the real society,which reflects the value and practicality of their knowledge.The third chapter expounds the pioneers’ knowledge influence on their thoughts and literary creation.The pioneers’ knowledge can not only provide literary material,influence their literary creation style,but also influence their thoughts imperceptibly.Firstly,the pioneers’ scientific knowledge gave them scientific spirit.They applied the research methods of natural science to the study of Chinese traditional culture and literary creation.They emphasized the use of their own professional terms in different disciplines and respected the facts.The knowledge of biology and evolutionism gave them the concept of evolution.The scientific knowledge also gave Lu Xun the scientific thought of dialectics and opposing feudal superstition.Secondly,the pioneers attached great importance to the role of experience knowledge on writers’ creation and arousing readers’ resonance.The pioneers’ writing of life experience was inseparable from their experience knowledge.They combine experience knowledge with scientific knowledge,which makes their thinking more acute and rigorous.Finally,the pioneer’s pluralistic knowledge promoted their rebellion against traditional morality and traditional ideas,accelerated their awakening of subjective consciousness,the diversified knowledge enabled them to have global vision and inclusive mind.The knowledge of pioneers plays an important role in shaping themselves.The fourth chapter discusses the pioneers’ belief.Belief is the core concept of modern knowledge science.To study the pioneers’ knowledge from the perspective of modern knowledge science,we must scientifically explain their belief.Firstly,we will discuss the types,attributes and functions of the pioneers’ belief.The pioneers’ belief can be divided into real belief,false belief,positive belief,negative belief,prototype belief,model belief,and virtue belief.Their belief has different attribute.For example,prototype belief has attributes of self-evident,firm and personal,while model belief has attributes as individuality and logicality.The positive role of pioneers’ belief is embodied in strengthening the cognition of subject.It is the medium of acquiring new knowledge and the bridge between knowledge and practice.The negative influence refers to the negative influence directly brought by wrong belief,and also refers to the conservative nature of belief and the restrictive effect of universal belief.Secondly,it focuses on the model beliefs of the pioneers about literature.They believe that literature is the product of a specific era and environment.Literature can reflect the times and social phenomena,and literature should be close to real life.They believe that literature should truly express the writers’thoughts and feelings,and should meet the needs of readers’reading and aesthetic appreciation.They criticized the absurd and harmful thoughts in ancient literature,and the problems in style and punctuation.The belief of the pioneers was influenced by their accumulated knowledge of Chinese and foreign literature,which was also the basis and premise for them to accept or deny the knowledge of Chinese and foreign literature.The fifth chapter researches on the belief and knowledge of Lu Xun and Chen Duxiu.Firstly,we will explore Lu Xun’s belief on language,picture art,Chinese characters and medicine.Lu Xun’s belief on language is related to the practical needs.As long as it is conducive to the needs of practical expression,classical Chinese,foreign new words and foreign grammar can be used.He hopes to use Esperanto to promote the exchange of knowledge and ideas around the world.Lu Xun’s belief on picture art is related to its practical function.The picture art is helpful to enlightenment,can bring aesthetic pleasure to people,enrich people’s understanding of the world,and so on.Lu Xun held an negative belief on Chinese characters,his abolition of Chinese characters was a wrong belief,that did not form a comprehensive understanding of Chinese characters.He also denied traditional Chinese medicine,and his belief on western medicine has changed from believing to doubting.Secondly,it expounds Chen Duxiu’s early patriotism belief and knowledge.Before 1917,Chen Duxiu’s patriotism belief can be divided into three stages:the belief of patriotism,loyalty to the monarch and anti-imperialism in the early stage,the belief of modern state and saving the nation from subjugation,and democratic belief.Chen Duxiu’s earliest patriotism belief is mainly influenced by the traditional Chinese patriotism knowledge education and experience knowledge,relying on the knowledge of history,geography,military,politics,literature and so on.After systematically studying the western political science and national science,he changed his belief of loyalty to the monarch,regarded land,people and sovereignty as the core of the country.After studying the western political science,biology,economics and other scientific knowledge,Chen Duxiu’s patriotism belief has the democratic connotation.Through case analysis,it fully shows the individual differences of the pioneers’knowledge and belief,and shows the dynamic change process of their belief.The conclusion summaries the research content of this paper.At the same time,we will summarize the uniqueness and value of the May 4th new literature pioneers’ knowledge system.In a word,this paper not only makes an overall investigation on the historical background and educational environment of the the May 4th new literature pioneers’ growth,but also makes a specific analysis on their knowledge,belief and literary creation,combining the theory of according to the times and according to the people,and combining external and internal research of literature.In the meantime,in comparison with the traditional scholars and contemporary intellectuals,the uniqueness and value of the pioneer’s knowledge system and thought are fully explored.This paper tries to restore the cultural ecological environment of the pioneers’ reading,learning and creation,so as to form a more comprehensive and accurate grasp of their knowledge system.We will also fully draw on the existing research results,comprehensively discuss the relationship between the pioneers’knowledge system and new literature,and find a new breakthrough for the modern interpretation of the May 4th new literature.